Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I missed votes on Wednesday, November 17, 2010 visiting a constituent at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. If I were present, I would have voted:

``Yea'' on rollcall 572, On Agreeing to the Resolution, H. Res. 332-- Providing for the House to adjourn for the Thanksgiving District Work Period.

I thank my friend from Missouri for yielding to me.

In February of 2009, I introduced the Plain Writing Act, and I rise today to talk about the responsibility of this government to communicate effectively with its citizens.

I know that lawyers are often blamed for the legalese that makes government documents so difficult to read and understand, so some might find it unusual that this ``plain language'' bill was introduced by someone who practiced law for 23 years before being elected to Congress. They might be surprised to learn that the use of clear, concise language in communications has been a passion of mine since I started practicing in 1983, when the Iowa Supreme Court adopted plain language guidelines for use in its jury instructions. Since that time, I've been speaking and writing about the importance of using plain language to improve both written and spoken communications.

I was proud to introduce the Plain Writing Act, a bill that requires the Federal Government to write documents such as letters from the Social Security Administration or a notice from the Department of Veterans Affairs in simple, easy-to-understand language. I first introduced this bill last Congress and was proud when it passed the House floor earlier this year with overwhelming support. In fact, this same bill passed by a vote of 376-1 on April 14, 2008, and by a vote of 386-33 on March 17, 2010. Yesterday it passed the Senate unanimously.

I want to thank Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Ed Towns and Ranking Member Darrell Issa for their support of this important legislation. I also want to thank Senator Bennett from Utah, Senator Voinovich from Ohio and Senator Akaka from Hawaii for working together in a bipartisan manner to get the Senate to pass this important bill.

Anyone who's done their own taxes knows the headache of trying to understand pages and pages of confusing forms and instructions. There is absolutely no reason for the Federal Government not to write these tax documents and other public documents in language we can all understand. Yet despite the objections of my friend from Utah, the Federal Government, no matter who's in charge, has always had a problem with this accountability.

Writing documents in plain language will increase government accountability and save Americans time and money. Plain, straightforward language makes it easier for taxpayers to understand what the Federal Government is doing and what services it's offering. Small businesses will see substantial benefits from eliminating Federal gobbledygook.

Often small businesses have to hire lawyers and accountants to help them navigate the maze of Federal paperwork and convoluted language. The National Federation of Independent Business estimates that the average per hour cost of paperwork and recordkeeping for small businesses is $48.72. The use of clear, easy-to-understand language in government paperwork will substantially reduce burdens on small businesses and save taxpayers millions of dollars.

The Plain Writing Act will require the Federal Government to use plain communications, forms, and public distributed documents, writing in a clear, concise, well-organized manner that follows the best practices of plain language writing.

Using these complex forms, letters, and notices imposes unnecessary hardships on American citizens, and replacing them with plain language will improve service to the public, save time that agencies currently spend answering questions about what documents mean, and make it easier to hold agencies accountable for their work.

I know this bill will make it easier for Americans and small businesses to work and understand their government.

I want to thank all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who join me today in standing up for plain language and plain writing and standing up for effective communication with our constituents and standing up for small business owners and in standing up for the taxpayers who, despite the CBO estimate of the short-term cost, will see substantial savings as we reduce the time that Federal agencies spend responding to requests for information.

Madam Speaker, I'm proud to rise in strong support of my legislation, the All-American Flag Act. I strongly believe that our American flags should be made in the U.S.A. with American products.

Currently, Federal law does require that American flags purchased and used by the government are partially American made. That is, the law only requires that at least 50 percent of the materials used to make the flag are American made. I strongly believe that this is a hypocritical use of our taxpayer dollars, especially when the majority of American flags that are imported into the United States come from China.

According to Commerce and Census Data, in 2009, the dollar value of flags imported to the United States was $3 million. Of that total, $2.5 million of imported flags came from China.

The Federal Government should not be buying American flags that are manufactured in countries such as China. This is why I introduced the All-American Flag Act.

My legislation would simply require that any United States flags acquired for use by the Federal Government be entirely manufactured in the United States. This is a simple fix that ensures American flags are not foreign-made.

I urge my colleagues to support my All-American Flag Act and look forward to seeing it pass on the House floor.

Madam Speaker, I missed votes on Monday, September 16, 2010, due to a meeting at the Institutes of Medicine. If I were present, I would have voted:

``Yea'' on rollcall 526, On Ordering the Previous Question, H. Res. 1620--Providing for consideration of H.R. 4785, the Rural Energy Savings Program Act.

``Yea'' on rollcall 527, On Agreeing to the Resolution, H. Res. 1620--Providing for consideration of H.R. 4785, the Rural Energy Savings Program Act.

``Yea'' on rollcall 528, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendments, H.R. 3562--To designate the Federal building under construction at 1220 Echelon Parkway in Jackson, Mississippi, as the Chaney, Goodman, Schwerner Federal Building.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the three year anniversary of the Iowa Safe Schools law. As an Iowan, I'm proud to say that my home state has a strong Safe Schools law which protects all students against prejudice. Iowa is the 10th state to pass such a law which was the extension of the Civil Rights law which protects LGBT school staff members from discrimination.

I also rise today to recognize my friend, former State Senator Mike Connelly. Senator Connelly has been a trusted advocate for policies related to education and youth in Iowa during his 30 years working as a legislator. Senator Connelly played an integral role in the passing of the Safe Schools law serving as the floor manager in the Iowa Senate for the passing of the bill. It was Senator Connolly who successfully challenged those who were initially opposed to the Safe Schools Law. His support helped persuade many Senators to switch their final vote from ``no'' to ``yes.''

I'm pleased to be celebrating the three year anniversary of the Iowa Safe Schools law. This law will protect students against discrimination for generations to come.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to support the amendment that I have offered to increase funds within the Community Development Block Grant by $20 million to be used for disaster relief and recovery in the Midwest by reducing funding for the administration operations and management and nonpersonnel expenses in the bill.

This past weekend, heavy rains caused major flooding in parts of my district. Lake Delhi, which you see on this illustration, was a treasured summer retreat. It's gone. The 9-mile long lake disappeared after sudden flood waters breached its 92-year-old dam on Saturday morning. I was standing at the south end of the dam watching this happen at 1 o'clock in the afternoon.

Over a dozen other communities in my district are also experiencing major flooding this week.

This $20 million increase to CDBG will be used to help aid flood relief and recovery in the Midwest. The eligibility requirements for CDBG clearly

state that grant funds can be used for particularly urgent community development needs because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the public.

Due to the flooding, parts of my district are currently experiencing serious and immediate threats to the public. Piles of flood-polluted garbage are piling up and raising serious public health concerns.

You can see the damage that has been caused as the lake has drained. The stench of rotting fish permeates the air around Lake Delhi. Many of the homes are experiencing major flood damage while values are expected to plummet as the lake has disappeared.

The CDBG funds have been used in the past to aid in disaster relief and recovery. In 1997, they were used to aid communities in the upper Midwest affected by severe flooding.

In 2002, emergency CDBG funds were awarded to the State of New York for assistance for properties and businesses damaged by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. These emergency funds helped these businesses with economic revitalization.

I look forward to working with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the State of Iowa, to ensure that the CDBG funds are properly used to aid in flood recovery and relief. I urge everyone to support flood relief for the Midwest.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I missed votes on Monday, July 26, 2010 due to flooding in the district. If I were present, I would have voted:

``Yea'' on rollcall No. 467, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as amended, H.R. 1320--To amend the Federal Advisory Committee Act to increase the transparency and accountability of Federal advisory committees, and for other purposes.

``Yea'' on rollcall No. 468, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree, as amended, H. Res. 1504--Recognizing and honoring the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

``Yea'' on rollcall No. 469, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as amended, H.R. 3101--Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of this bill but also to voice my strong concerns with the direction of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While I fully support ensuring the safety of our Nation's troops, I have serious concerns over the provisions of this bill related to the funding of the conflicts. I have long advocated a responsible withdrawal from Afghanistan and believe that the continued funding of these wars outside of the appropriations process without a plan in place for withdrawal is reckless and wasteful. I firmly believe that Congress must require a responsible exit strategy from Afghanistan and work to ensure that the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq remains on track.

Over the weekend, severe weather across Iowa caused heavy rains, thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes, and flooding that devastated numerous communities in my district. I support this bill today for the $5.1 billion included to replenish the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Relief Fund, which has been operating at a dangerously low level since the beginning of this year, halting recovery projects in Iowa and across the country from past disasters. With the recent disasters in my district, I believe this continued funding is vital to ensure that my constituents and other citizens who are faced with disaster have the necessary assistance to recover and rebuild from these devastating storms.

I applaud the House and Senate for acting today to ensure appropriate funding is available for disaster recovery and for other provisions in support of veterans, but I do not support another blank check for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr. Speaker, unemployment benefits and Social Security benefits are a safety net. They are not a lottery handout; and as we struggle to try to get the Senate to pass an extension of unemployment benefits, with 15 million out-of-work Americans who are depending on us to pay their bills, it's important to remember that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said that passage of unemployment benefit extensions is one of the most cost-effective and fast-acting ways to stimulate the economy.

But lost in all of this debate and all of this delay is the human side. So I want to share the story fresh from the headline of today's Dubuque Telegraph Herald with the headline: ``Desperation sets in for jobless parents.'' A family with a 32-year-old dad and 30-year-old mom could provide for their children a year ago, but times have changed because Mom suffered an injury at work and hasn't been able to work since March. Dad lost his job a couple of months later, and their unemployment benefits expired in July. The family includes girls, 14 and 10, and boys, 11 and 7.

These are the Americans who need us to act now.

Mr. Speaker, it is always a privilege when a member of your district, a constituent, gets to deliver the prayer to open the House day. It's also a rare privilege when that individual happens to be your personal pastor. But, Mr. Speaker, no one knows better than you what a rare privilege it is when that person is also a member of your family.

I am extremely proud to have my brother here to deliver the opening prayer. This is an important week in his life because this is also the 30th anniversary this week of his ordination as a Presbyterian minister. He is the Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He has also served churches in Nevada and Ida Grove, Iowa. He got his Divinity Degree from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in my district.

He's been a great role model to me and my family and has been an inspiration to the parish where he has served because of his community leadership, including a very long and strong action in leading the CROP Walk to help take care of needy people throughout this world. For that reason I am honored to have him here today. I appreciated the inspiring remarks he shared with us.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to be a cosponsor of the bill, and I thank the chairman for yielding.

As we continue to stop the oil disaster in the gulf coast and clean it up, we must also ensure that the victims of this spill are fairly compensated for their loss. And at our field hearing in Chalmette, Louisiana, we saw firsthand that these individuals, like the brave families who are here today, are being inadequately compensated for the enormous losses they face.

One of the few requests made by Natalie Roshto and Courtney Kemp at that hearing, who testified, was that Congress take the necessary steps to strengthen these laws and ensure their husbands did not die in vain. And when we had our Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee hearing on June 17, I had a chance to question BP Chairman Tony Hayward, and I showed him clips of those widows' testimony, challenging him to listen to their pain and

explain to them how on the anniversaries of the loss of their husbands and the anniversaries of their marriage and the birth of their children and at their children's graduation and their weddings, where is BP and Transocean and Halliburton going to be? That's why we need to pass this bill.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk made in order under the rule.

Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

My amendment to H.R. 5297 is a commonsense bill that is consistent with what we've already passed in the 111th Congress by a vote of 386- 33 on March 17. It was my Plain Language in Government Communications Act.

Madam Chairwoman, when I go back and I talk to small business owners in my district, one of their biggest complaints is a Federal bureaucracy with too much red tape, written in language they can't understand, which forces them to go hire lawyers and accountants so that they can understand the requirements that we impose upon them.

My amendment would require plain language to be used for documents that go to the public related to this lending fund. It will improve the effectiveness and accountability of the Department of the Treasury and the Small Business Administration by promoting clear government communication that the public can understand and use.

Plain language is writing that the intended audience can clearly understand because it is concise, well-organized, and follows other practices of plain writing. The Department of the Treasury and Small Business Administration will be required to implement plain writing requirements by designating a senior official to oversee the implementation of the provision; communicate the requirements to employees; train employees in plain writing; establish a process to oversee compliance; create a plain language requirement on their agency's Web site; and designate one or more agency points of contact to receive and respond to public feedback.

Writing government documents in plain language will increase government accountability and save taxpayers, community banks, and small business owners time and money. Plain, straightforward language makes it easier to understand these loan documents. And my amendment will make it easier for small businesses and community banks to work with and understand the government. That is why it is so important that we move forward to implement plain writing requirements across the board, but particularly in these two agencies, as it relates to the loan programs that are under consideration.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I would yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Bean).

Madam Chairwoman, I think that the comments that you've heard are indicative of what's wrong with the way the government agencies write their documents. I think it is deplorable that we have to take this action.

But the sad truth is, anybody who's looked at these loan documents knows how serious this problem is. I think this is a small step in the right direction. I call this ``the little engine that could.'' I think if we implement this across the board in federal agencies, American taxpayers and consumers of Federal information will be much better off. And I urge my colleagues to vote in support of the amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, a week ago I was in Chalmette, Louisiana, for a field hearing on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. We heard compelling testimony from people whose lives have been devastated, including two of the widows who lost their husbands on that explosion on the rig. We also flew out over the site of that disaster, and as they opened up the rear hatch on the plane, you could see the burn-off from the relief wells being drilled, and you could smell the overpowering stench of oil coming off the water.

Well, our friends on the other side like to take a position that government should be hands off when it comes to business development, and BP is teaching us that we can't afford to let businesses misrepresent to this country what they're planning to do the way BP did when they knew that there was a 99 percent chance of a blowout during the 40-year period of this lease and still got a waiver from any deep, intensive environmental impact analysis before that well was explored.

We have to hold this company accountable for the American people, the American taxpayers.

They created this problem. This is what happens when we stay hands off and don't keep people accountable for their conduct.

I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, the amendment that I have offered is an amendment that makes great sense, especially given the

enormous costs that American taxpayers have paid for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

One of the things we know is that there is a price for war. Sixty- five years ago, my father was in route from Guam to Iwo Jima as an 18- year-old marine. At that time, the world had been at war for a little over 5 years. Well, here in the United States, we have been at war, basically, since September 11 of 2001.

My amendment offers a simple, commonsense solution that requires the administration to submit a report to Congress on the long-term costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As I mentioned, we have been engaged in a war in Afghanistan for almost 9 years now and in Iraq for 7 years, and the Department of Defense has yet to submit a long-term estimate of the cost of these wars. The previous administration failed to submit a cost estimate despite a statutory reporting requirement for a cost estimate for fiscal years 2006 through 2011 that was required in the fiscal year 2005 defense appropriations bill.

According to the Congressional Research Service, through fiscal year 2009, Congress has appropriated at least $944 billion in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we have lost over 4,400 American lives in Iraq and over 1,060 lives in Afghanistan. Because of this immense cost, the American people deserve to have an honest estimate about how much these wars are going to cost us over the long term. This is especially critical on the issue of future health care costs.

My amendment addresses an important issue. This goes back to an Oversight Subcommittee hearing we had after the Walter Reed Building 18 fiasco in 2007. At that hearing, retired Lieutenant General Chip Roadman, a former Air Force surgeon general and a member of the Independent Review Group, told me, ``We recognize the cost is immense, and it is our moral obligation to address those issues.''

In the Independent Review Group report, the four signature injuries of these wars were identified. Posttraumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, increased survival of severe burns, and traumatic amputations are the four signature wounds. The recovery process for these signature wounds ``can take months or years and must accommodate recurring delayed manifestations of symptoms, extended rehabilitation and all the life complications that emerge over time from such trauma.'' We don't have a good understanding today of how much it is going to cost to take care of these wounded veterans, and we need to acknowledge the true cost.

Already, over 1,300 servicemembers have suffered amputations as a result of their service in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 243,000 have been treated for mental health conditions. Over 129,000 have been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. These numbers will only continue to grow. We also know, according to the U.S. Life Tables, Mr. Chairman, the life expectancy of an 18- to 19-year-old male is 58 years. That means almost 60 years of treatment and care for many of these wounded veterans. That is why we need an honest and accurate assessment of the true cost of the war.

My amendment requires the President to estimate the number of veterans expected to suffer from these signature wounds and the cost it is going to take to treat them and to provide them with the care they deserve.

That is why this amendment is a commonsense, transparent requirement. It is long overdue, and it is going to give the American taxpayers, who are footing the bill for these deserving veterans, a better idea of what the long-term cost is actually going to be. That is why I urge everyone to support it.

Madam Speaker, I regret missing floor votes on Thursday, May 13, 2010. If I were present, I would have voted: ``Yea'' on rollcall 271, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Res. 1338--Recognizing the significant accomplishments of AmeriCorps; ``yea'' on rollcall 272, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Res. 1337--Expressing the sympathy and condolences of the House of Representatives to those people affected by the flooding in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi in May, 2010.